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BURMA RELATED NEWS - February - 11, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEADLINE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP - Two killed, 37 injured as Myanmar fighting
spills into Thailand
Reuters - Clashes at Thai-Myanmar border, Thai
town shelled
AP - Thai officials: Myanmar troops in heavy
combat with rebel army
AFP - Indian FM due in
Myanmar with drugs, insurgency on agenda
AFP - Villagers killed as Myanmar fighting
spills over into Thailand
AP - Indian Foreign Minister To Visit Myanmar
Next Week
Toronto Star - To boycott or not to
boycott?
The Star (Malaysia) - Myanmar woman
escaping raid drowns in pond
The Nation - Rebels flee into
Thailand
Bkk Post - Junta troops capture Thai
military base
Bkk Post - Kanchanaburi pins hopes on
Tavoy road
Bkk Post - Rebels committed to drug war BBC - Clashes flare on Thai-Burma
border
WIRE: 02/11/2001 5:54 am ET
Two killed, 37 injured as Myanmar fighting spills into Thailand BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) Heavy
fighting between Myanmar troops and a rebel group spilled into Thailand Sunday,
killing two civilians and injuring at least 37 soldiers, the Thai army said.
The fighting erupted in at least three Myanmar border areas between Myanmar
soldiers and the Shan State Army, a guerrilla group fighting for independence
for the ethnic Shan minority.
There was no word on casualties from the Myanmar side, and the Myanmar
government would not comment on the fighting.
Thai army spokesman Somkuan Sangpataranet said Myanmar troops fired a
barrage of shells at the guerrillas, and some landed across the border in the
northern Thai town of Mae Sai, killing two people.
He said Thai troops fought a gun battle with about 200 Myanmar soldiers who
intruded onto Thai soil in the nearby Mae Fah Luang district while chasing the
Shan rebels. Seven Thai soldiers were injured in the fighting, he said.
"We cannot accept the movement of the Myanmar army and we consider it an
attempt to harm our territorial integrity," said Thai army Lt. Gen. Wathanachai
Chaimuanwong.
The Myanmar troops captured 19 soldiers, but a Thai unit later rescued
them, Wathanachai told reporters. Some 30 Myanmar soldiers were injured in the
fighting with the Shan army, he said.
According to unconfirmed reports, two Myanmar soldiers were killed, Col.
Somsuk Suansombat, a Thai army intelligence officer, said.
A border committee was trying to convince the Myanmar troops to withdraw
from the mountainous area, where the border is often fuzzy and an uneasy truce
prevails.
Somkuan, the army spokesman, said Myanmar troops also fired automatic
rifles at a Thai army helicopter on a supply mission flight over Mae Aye, about
60 miles from Mae Sai. The aircraft was damaged but landed safely, he said.
The Myanmar soldiers appeared to have launched the operation to pave the
way for the United Wa State Army, a pro-government group, to take full control
of the region.
The Wa enjoy virtual autonomy in the area, while Shan militias have fought
the Myanmar government for independence for the past four decades, funding the
resistance with drugs.
Mae Sai, on the northernmost tip of Thailand, is about 440 miles north of
Bangkok.
After about 10 shells landed in Mae Sai, shopkeepers closed their shops and
the streets became deserted, said Fuen Kam, a resident contacted by telephone.
He said the rockets damaged some buildings.
"This is some of the heaviest fighting I have ever heard in the area," Fuen
Kam told the AP before leaving town with scores of other residents.
Most of the serious fighting is believed to be taking place at a hill about
two miles west of the town of Thakhilek, which is separated from Mae Sai by a
canal.
Also Sunday, a police helicopter on security detail for the visiting queen
of Denmark crashed in a jungle in northern Chian Mai province.
Two policemen were injured in the crash, which occured about 210 miles from
the fighting and was unrelated to it.
Queen Margrethe II and her husband, Prince Henrik, were not flying at the
time of the crash. They were scheduled to end a six-day visit to Thailand on
Monday.
Clashes at Thai-Myanmar border, Thai
town shelled
BANGKOK, Feb 11 (Reuters) -
Troops from Myanmar fired more than 10 mortar shells into a busy Thai border
town on Sunday killing two residents and wounding four, police in northern
Thailand said.
The incident, in Mae Sai District in Chiangrai Province, followed gunfire
and mortar exchanges between Thai border forces and Myanmar troops conducting a
dry-season military offensive against ethnic Shan forces, they added.
The police said that eight Thai soldiers had been wounded in the border
exchanges. Thai officials closed the border indefinitely after the mortar
shelling.
"The mortar shells landed mostly in a crowded residential area about 500
metres (yards) from the borderline. This must be a result of the clashes this
morning," a senior district official told Reuters by phone, adding that most
business activity ground to a halt in the normally busy town.
"We still can hear gunfire coming from the borderline," the official added.
The anti-government Shan State Army (SSA) has bases inside eastern Myanmar,
adjoining the province which is 940 km (588 miles) north of Bangkok.
SSA troops have fought Myanmar government forces for several decades to
secure an autonomous Shan state.
Thai and Myanmar forces exchanged automatic weapons and mortar fire along
the border earlier on Sunday. Police said about 30 Myanmar soldiers briefly
crossed the border as they tried to dislodge the SSA forces.
BUSY FRONTIER TRADING TOWN
Police said that five to 10 Myanmar soldiers might have been killed in the
border exchanges and in clashes with Shan forces.
Mae Sai is a busy frontier trading town through which large volumes of
consumer goods from Thailand flow into Myanmar daily. The Thai army said in a
statement that over 200 Myanmar troops had seized a small Thai military outpost
at another border area in Chiangrai on Friday and held it for most of Saturday.
It said the Myanmar forces had been engaged in heavy clashes with Thai
soldiers sent there to push them back.
The statement, issued on Sunday, said a Thai army helicopter was damaged by
Myanmar ground fire during the fighting on Saturday after a Thai attempt to
negotiate for a Myanmar withdrawal failed.
An SSA source told Reuters the Thai helicopter crashed late on Saturday.
This was not confirmed by the Thai army.
The Thai army statement said the border base, manned by 19 Thai soldiers at
the time of the assault by Myanmar soldiers, was in a disputed border area
claimed by the two countries.
The Thai army did not make clear if the Myanmar forces had withdrawn from
the base.
The statement said the Myanmar military had committed at least five to six
battalions of troops to its current offensive against the SSA forces in areas
opposite Chiangrai.
WIRE: 02/11/2001 2:21 am ET
Thai officials: Myanmar troops in heavy combat with rebel army BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) Myanmar
troops were locked in heavy fighting with a rebel group near the Thai border
Sunday, and several shells landed in Thai territory, injuring six Thai soldiers,
officials and residents said.
The battle took place in the Thakhilek area of Myanmar between government
soldiers and the Shan State Army, a guerrilla group of the ethnic Shan minority,
residents in the Thai border town of Mae Sai said. There was no word on
casualties.
The fighting occurred one to two miles from the border, and gunfire and
exploding artillery shells could be heard in Mae Sai, residents contacted by
telephone said.
To protect residents from the fighting across the border, Thai army
authorities ordered the evacuation of Mae Sai, a busy trading town, to an area
six miles away. Scores of frightened people were leaving the town, said one
resident.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been governed by its military for nearly
four decades. For more than 50 years, ethnic insurgencies like the Shan State
Army have fought against central rule by Yangon. Tens of thousands of refugees
have fled into Thailand.
Thai army spokesman Somkuan Sangpataranet told the Ruam Duay Chuy Kan radio
station that six mortar shells landed in Thailand. He said six soldiers were
injured. An army helicopter flying on a supply mission was hit by automatic
gunfire, but it landed safely.
Somkuan said military reinforcements were sent to the area.
The Thai commander of the area, Lt. Gen. Wathanachai Chaimuanwong, told
Radio Thailand that Myanmar soldiers have launched "a heavy operation" against
the Shan State Army to pave the way for the United Wa State Army, a
pro-government group, to take full control of the border region.
Mae Sai is on the northernmost tip of Thailand, 444 miles north of
Bangkok.
Indian FM due in Myanmar with drugs,
insurgency on agenda
GUWAHATI, India, Feb 11 (AFP) -
India and Myanmar are to sign a treaty to combat cross-border drug trafficking
and a separatist insurgency during a visit by India's foreign minister next
week, officials said Sunday.
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is due in Yangon on Tuesday for a three-day
official visit, accompanied by a government delegation, and is also set to
discuss ways to boost trade and transport.
The officials said high on the agenda were "effective plans" to stem the
flow of drugs from Myanmar into India through Moreh, the last border point in
the northeastern Indian state of Manipur.
They said a treaty would be signed next week following Singh's talks with
Myanmar's military leaders.
Experts say drugs such as heroin and marijuana find their way into India's
remote northeastern states from Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
During his stay in Yangon, Singh is expected to call on Myanmar's army
chief of staff Lieutenant General Tin Oo and top junta leader General Than
Shwe.
India and Myanmar, who share a 1,643-kilometre (1,018-mile) border, pledged
in 1999 to cooperate more closely and curb cross-border terrorism.
The two sides signed a document agreeing to "control and contain
cross-border militancy in their respective territory, drug trafficking and
smuggling, and the opening of more border trade centres."
"The two sides this time will review the progress achieved in the
implementation of measures for ensuring security, suppression of drug
trafficking along the Indo-Myanmar border, and further strengthen bilateral
cooperation in this regard," a senior foreign ministry official told AFP.
India and Myanmar are also expected to commission a highway to link the two
countries by road and boost cross-border transport and communication, the
official said.
"The inflow of tourists is expected to improve when the highway is opened
for traffic, and other mutually-beneficial economic activities are also bound to
increase," he said.
New Delhi will also urge Yangon not to allow rebel groups from northeastern
Indian states to use Myanmar's territory for training camps, the officials
said.
India says a dozen separatist groups, including the dominant National
Socialist Council of Nagaland, have bases in northwest Myanmar.
During a visit by Myanmar Home Minister Tin Hlaing to New Delhi in November
last year the two sides discussed the issue.
Sunday, February 11 7:56 PM SGT
Villagers killed as Myanmar fighting spills over into Thailand BANGKOK, Feb 11 (AFP) -
Fighting between Myanmar's troops and ethnic rebels has spread to Thailand and
claimed lives as the Yangon junta troops opened fire in northern Thailand Sunday
after storming a Thai military base two days earlier.
Three villagers have been killed and seven Thai soldiers injured,
Thailand's army spokesman Colonel Somkuan Seangpattaranetr said.
Some 200 Myanmar troops entered Thailand Friday and took control of a
border military base in Mae Fah Luang district where 19 Thai paramilitary
soldiers had been standing watch 500 meters (1,650 feet) inside Thailand.
The Myanmar troops, who were pursuing guerrillas from the Shan State Army
(SSA), occupied the base after having been denied passage by Thai guards.
The Thai paramilitary troops stationed at the base were rescued
Sunday.
"Myanmar troops used aggressive force to take control of the Thai base.
They intend to use the Thai base as a staging area to fight the SSA," said Third
Regional Army Commander Lieutenant General Wattanachai Chaimaeunwong.
Thai troops retaliated Sunday in hopes of taking back the base and to send
a warning to Thais along the border that they should avoid the area for fear of
fighting and hostage-taking, Wattanachai said.
"The situation is under control, but the safety (of the area near the base)
is not yet guaranteed," Somkuan said.
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Pradap Pibulsonggram said the army had
acted to protect its border.
"The Thai army's action is in response to a violation of our sovereignty,
and Thailand will use the necessary process to protect our sovereignty and
territorial integrity," he said.
Pradap also said the foreign ministry would wait for more information
before taking diplomatic measures.
In a separate incident, Myanmar troops opened fire Sunday in Mae Sai, a
town in Thailand's northern province of Chiang Rai.
"Three Thai villagers are dead from the sporadic shooting," Somkuan
said.
He added that Thai soldiers had returned fire but were avoiding populated
areas. The exchange of fire had abated late Sunday, he said.
"The shelling opposite Mae Sai was quiet in the late afternoon," Somkuan
told AFP.
"We don't want it to happen but we cannot allow anybody to violate our
sovereignty," he said.
A Thailand-Myanmar border committee, which last met more than two years
ago, is expected to convene tomorrow to negotiate an end to the skirmish, an
army spokesman said.
"Thailand calls on Myanmar to speed up the meeting of the Regional Border
Committee," Pradap said.
The 2,000-strong SSA is one of a few major armed factions left in Myanmar
which have yet to agree to a ceasefire with the government in Yangon.
Such fighting along the border is common during the region's dry season
when troops can move easily through the countryside.
Sunday February 11, 3:39 AM
Indian Foreign Minister To Visit Myanmar Next Week YANGON, Myanmar (AP)--Indian
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh will visit Myanmar next week, an Indian diplomat
said Saturday, the first official visit by an Indian Cabinet minister since the
current military regime took power in 1988.
Singh will visit Myanmar from Feb. 13-15, and will attend the inauguration
of a border road in northwestern Myanmar, said a diplomat from the Indian
Embassy, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
Myanmar's foreign minister, Win Aung, had invited Singh to the country, a
report in the official New Light of Myanmar daily said.
Relations between Myanmar and India, cool after the junta's violent 1988
takeover, have improved through recent bilateral visits, including a seven-day
visit in November 2000 by Gen. Maung Aye, the second-highest ranking leader in
the junta.
During his visit, India extended a $15 million credit to Myanmar to buy
industrial and electrical equipment from India.
The border road will be inaugurated Tuesday by an Indian delegation led by
Singh and Myanmar leaders led by high-ranking junta member Lt. Gen. Tin Oo and
Deputy Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Tin Hla, the Indian diplomat said.
After opening the road that links the Myanmar town of Tamu, 840 kilometers
northwest of Yangon (520 miles), to the India town of Moreh, Singh will travel
from Tamu to the capital Yangon, where he will discuss bilateral, regional and
international issues with Myanmar leaders, he added.
Myanmar and India share a 1,400-kilometer (868-mile) border.
The road to be inaugurated is the old 160-kilometer (100-mile)
Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalaywa road, which was rebuilt by the Indian Border Road
Organization in 1997.
The Indian diplomat described the road as "a monument of the close,
traditional and friendly relations between India and Myanmar."
Toronto Star
To boycott or not to boycott? Critics of the military regime say tourist dollars help perpetuate Burma's repression Martin Regg Cohn - ASIAN BUREAU BAGAN, Burma - THE HOT air balloon soars over a panorama of ancient
Buddhist temples at sunrise. The setting is sublime but quickly turns
surreal.
Once the tour group touches down on a farmer's field, the balloon's
breathless crew pour glasses of chilled champagne for the paying passengers -
while impoverished villagers stare in silence.
The contrast between luxury travel and local living conditions couldn't be
greater that in this tortured Southeast Asian nation.
To foreigners breezing through Burma, it seems a land of smiling faces,
unspoiled colonial architecture and magnificent Buddhist history. But behind the
veneer of tropical paradise lies an iron-fisted military regime that tramples on
human rights and builds golf courses for army officers while cheating villagers
of decent education or health care.
In the decade since the military massacred protesters, cancelled an
opposition election victory and closed universities to punish student activists,
the country has bankrupted itself - morally and financially. Now, it is counting
on infusions of hard currency from visitors to shore up its sagging image and
finances.
Against that backdrop, what's the well-meaning, fun-loving foreign tourist
to do? Should travellers eschew the grandeur of the sumptuously restored Strand
Hotel in post-colonial Rangoon, where teak-panelled rooms range from $525 to
$1,350 a night?
For opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for
her resistance to the regime and who remains under house arrest in the capital,
there is no dilemma. Foreigners should simply stay away, to avoid shoring up an
illegitimate regime.
``I still think that people should not come to Burma because the bulk of
the money from tourism goes straight into the pockets of the generals,'' Suu Kyi
said in 1999. ``If tourists really wanted to find out what's happening in Burma,
it's better if they stay at home and read some of the many human-rights reports
there are.''
It's hard for tourists to close their eyes to the abuses, such as the
thousands of residents the government has dragooned for forced labour projects.
Leaving the Mandalay airport for the drive into town - the road was built with
forced labour, according to the Burmese opposition - visitors can still see
child labourers working on the paving crews.
In Bagan, one of the world's most remarkable Buddhist sites, the influx of
tourist dollars has clearly benefited the economy. But development remains
uneven. To enhance the appeal of Bagan's Buddhist temples, the military moved
thousands of residents to a neighbouring township.
There is now electricity 24 hours a day, but the power lines bypass many
villagers, who are also banned from cutting firewood. There is a
multi-million-dollar museum showing off Buddhist artefacts, but not enough money
to run the local hospital.
Such scenes have given ammunition to pro-democracy groups calling for a
boycott.
When guidebook company Lonely Planet produced a new edition on Burma last
year, a British lobby group, Tourism Concern, called for a boycott of the
publisher, including a postcard campaign that proclaimed: ``The cost of a
holiday in Burma could be someone's life.''
Another group, the Burma Relief Centre, made a point of returning corporate
donations from Lonely Planet because it objected to the guidebook.
But Lonely Planet's founder, Tony Wheeler, makes no apologies and plans to
reprint the guidebook shortly with a personal essay, based on an investigative
trip to Burma last month. He met foreign ambassadors, talked with travel
operators and came away convinced that tourism can help people break out of
poverty and isolation.
``There are lots of people who make their living from the tourism
business,'' he said in an interview. ``They would be unemployed if these
boycotters had their way.''
The publisher of the Rough Guides series disagrees. It recently announced
that as long as the military remains in power and the opposition opposes
tourism, ``Rough Guides will not publish a guide to the country.''
Beyond the rhetoric, it's clear that many Burmese view tourism as a two-way
street. Ordinary people had little hesitation in welcoming tourists, despite the
glaring contradictions and hardships.
While disdaining investment projects by foreign corporations (Canada is now
the country's second-biggest foreign investor), they draw a distinction between
visits by individuals and tour groups.
``Without tourists, we would be blind,'' says one guide in his late 20s who
still has not earned a degree because university classes were cancelled for
years. His identity cannot be disclosed because talking to the foreign press is
forbidden.
He sympathizes with the political objective of boycotting Burma but argues
that ordinary people as well as tour guides pay a heavy price for such
isolation. Deprived of regular contact with foreigners, guides would miss the
flow of information, encouragement - and money.
Private e-mails are illegal. Regular mail is routinely steamed open and the
contents intercepted. Books, magazines and newspapers are censored. Sealed in
cellophane, they are for sale only to foreigners at hotel bookshops.
`We have no access to the Internet, just what we get from backpackers and
visitors. We have fruit from our orchard, but we need food for our minds'- An
anonymous Burmese, arguing that tourists bring news from outside
``We have no access to the Internet, just what we get from backpackers and
visitors,'' says one university-educated man who is starved for books.
``We have fruit from our orchard, but we need food for our minds.''
The country has become a popular tourist destination for French and Italian
tour groups who are drawn to Burma's exotic allure. But there are few individual
travellers from Canada, Britain or the U.S.
Overall, only 150,000 tourists arrive in a typical year, generating about
$50 million in revenue. By comparison, neighbouring Thailand attracts about 8
million visitors and earns about $12 billion annually.
According to the Myanmar Investment Commission, about 15 per cent of the
more than $11 billion in foreign investment over the past decade went into
hotels and the tourism industry. Today, hotels with low occupancy rates are
shutting down or converting their ballrooms into discotheques.
Of those foreigners who visit, many flit through Burma oblivious to its
hardships. Tour groups are typically whisked from one sightseeing stop to
another, with little opportunity for genuine interaction with Burmese, who are
closely watched by government informers.
``You don't see soldiers with guns on the streets, but military
intelligence is everywhere,'' says one Burmese man.
``We want our country to be free. When that happens, we will welcome
foreign friends, as many as possible, including foreign investment.''
One Rangoon-based diplomat says she supported tourism initially as a way to
enhance the exchange of ideas. But she now sees luxury tour groups as a money
machine for the government, with visitors arriving - and leaving - in
ignorance.
``I think tourism should be absolutely banned,'' the diplomat says.
``Ninety per cent of tourists are rich people who don't even know there's a
military regime here. They think it's so nice: Everyone smiles, it's sunny, it's
pretty.''
The Canadian Friends of Burma, an Ottawa-based group of democracy
activists, argues that ``tourism fuels oppression'' in a country where forced
labour is commonplace.
``The bulk of tourism revenue goes straight to Burma's rulers, not to its
impoverished peoples. Tourists cannot help contributing to the regime's
wealth.''
The Star ( Malaysia)
Sunday, February 11, 2001 Myanmar woman escaping raid drowns in pond KUALA LUMPUR: A Myanmar national who was trying to escape from a pre-dawn
raid yesterday drowned in a disused mining pond.
The victim, whose identity was not immediately known, is believed to have
fled from her makeshift home near the Selayang wholesale market when authorities
surrounded the area at about 6.30am.
The woman, in her 30s, together with several others, ran in different
directions in their attempt to escape from the dragnet.
In her haste the victim fell into the pond.
Her body was fished out at about 1pm and later sent to the Kuala Lumpur
Hospital for a post-mortem.
Sentul Acting CID chief Asst Supt Tan Yan Thian confirmed the incident but
declined to elaborate.
It is learnt that the operation, dubbed Ops Nyah, was spearheaded by the
police and Immigration Department with additional manpower from the General
Operations Force.
The on-going massive operations were part of the Government's efforts to
rid the country of illegal immigrants.
In a separate incident, police recovered the skeletal remains of a woman,
believed to have died some three weeks ago at Km38 of the Rawang-Batang
Berjuntai highway.
The victim, clad in a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, was found about 50m from
the main road.
No personal documents were found except for a RM2 note, a bra and a pair of
ear rings next to her.
Those with information should contact ASP Wan Zainuddin Mahmud of the
Gombak district police at 03-6091 6222.
The Nation - February 11,
2001.
Rebels flee into Thailand MORE than 100 Burmese and Shan State Army (SSA) rebels have fled across the
Thai border into Chiang Rai province, seeking asylum after Burmese troops
launched a heavy assault on Shan bases on Thursday.
Five mortars were fired toward Thailand at Ban Terdthai, and Thai rangers
have thrown a blanket of security over the stretch of border where the fighting
took place.
Five hundred Burmese soldiers invaded the area close to the SSA base in at
attempt to overthrow it. The base is located two kilometres from the border.
The two sides have clashed more than five times since the first attack was
launched on Thursday, with the Burmese troops using heavy weaponry resulting in
many injuries and at least two deaths.
Burmese troops were reinforced with 700 soldiers yesterday, while an
additional 200 soldiers were deployed for the SSA.
The Third Army Region provided temporary asylum and said it would
repatriate the rebels when the fighting ends.
The rebels stopped in the Mae Fa Luang district.
Chaiya Saenliew, chairman of Tambon Mae Salong, said villagers were afraid
because five mortars had been fired into Thailand, though no damage or
casualties resulted.
He said Burmese troops had never set up a base opposite Ban Phayapria.
Villagers fear that if the Burmese army overruns the SSA, the SSA will cross
over the Thai border, he said.
"We are not confident, even though Thai soldiers have been deployed
throughout that stretch of the border,'' he said.
Bangkok Post - February - 11,
2001.
BURMESE BORDER Junta troops capture Thai military base Tanks, special units to reinforce border Subin Khuenkaew About 100 Burmese soldiers have seized a Thai military base in Chiang Rai's
Mae Fah Luang district and detained 20 paramilitary troops in a spillover of
fighting with Shan rebels.
Sources said the Thai troops, from company 9631, were not disarmed, could
listen to the radio and were allowed free movement within the base
compound.
They tried to negotiate for their freedom and the release of the base
yesterday, to no avail.
The Burmese soldiers, the sources said, had trespassed into Thailand after
opening clashes on Feb 5 with the Shan State Army opposite Ban Pang Noon in Mae
Fah Luang.
They captured the Thai base, about 500m inside the border, on Friday and
were preparing to use heavy weapons to attack the minority rebels from the
camp.
Fourteen Burmese soldiers had been killed in the fighting, the sources
said.
The army was sending armoured tanks as reinforcements and a special task
force from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, the Lop Buri and Chiang Mai special warfare
centres.
More than 100 Burmese have fled to Thailand since the fighting began.
Bangkok Post - February 11,
2001
Kanchanaburi pins hopes on Tavoy road Chettha likely to oversee project Local business has taken heart from Thaksin Shinawatra's election as prime
minister, in the expectation his government will help boost cross-border
trade.
They said the Thai Rak Thai leader had already shown interest in the
planned road from Kanchanaburi to Tavoy in lower Burma. There were reports Gen
Chettha Thanacharo, a Thai Rak Thai list MP, would become a deputy prime
minister and help push the road's development.
Mr Thaksin outlined his thoughts on border trade on Jan 28, when he visited
Kanchanaburi while campaigning for the Jan 29 re-election.
"I think from now on economic affairs will be a big issue. This must be
taken into account for talks. But our neighbour is in a political transition
period and might not regard the economy as the only important thing," Mr Thaksin
said.
"They must have regard to security as well, while we give more importance
to the economy than security. For them, security is most important, so it will
take time for them to develop economically." He asked local businesmen about the
Kanchanaburi-Tavoy road project, which is part of the border trade development
plan.
Sing Tangcharoenchaichana, chairman of the provincial industrial council,
told Mr Thaksin there had been little progress since the council launched the
project five years ago. There was still no formal agreement with the Burmese
government, although talks had begun.
Gen Chettha is expected to meet members of the Kanchanaburi industrial
council soon for talks.
Mr Sing said the industrial council wanted a signed agreement on the road
project at government level, which would lead to the opening of border
checkpoints. There would be no problem of funds for the road because
construction would be gradual, he said.
Boonchu Wiwattanathorn, chairman of the Kanchanaburi chamber of commerce,
said the opening of any of the three border checkpoints selected by the province
would benefit border trade and investment generally.
The three checkpoints are the Three-Pagoda Pass in Sangkhla Buri district,
I-Tong in Thong Pha Phum district and Pu Nam Ron in Muang district.
Sompong Tanchavalpipat, chamber of commerce chairman, outlined the main
obstacles to Thai-Burmese trade across the western border:- Half of the trade,
including logging and mining, is illegal and protection fees must be paid to
Burmese soldiers and minority militias.
- Rangoon's emphasis on national security rather than economic development,
as well as outdated trade laws, makes investment a high risk.
- All large projects in Burma need approval from the State Peace and
Development Council first, and under-the-table money must be paid for the
signing of any contracts.
- Political problems in Burma means foreign businesses lack trust in
Rangoon and are reluctant to invest.
- Security problems caused by Burmese ethnic minorities, who cause trouble
for both countries.
- Lack of money has forced Thai investors to scale down the original Tavoy
project to merely a road linking Kanchanaburi to Tavoy.
Bangkok Post - February 11,
2001.
Rebels committed to drug war Claim Burma troops directly involved Subin Khuenkaew The Shan State Army has gained recognition for its determination to root
out drug trafficking along the Burmese border, according to SSA leader Jao Yawd
Serk.
Jao Yawd Serk told the Bangkok Post the SSA's commitment to the war on
drugs was affirmed at a recent meeting at the SSA's military base in Loi Tai
Leng, located opposite Ban Lak Tang, in Chiang Mai's Vieng Haeng district.
The meeting unanimously called for the establishment of the Restoration
Council of the Shan State to be headed by Jao Yawd Serk, who picked Col Jao
Krue-ngern, a veteran Shan fighter, to replace him as commander of the SSA,
which has about 2,500 soldiers. Jao Yawd Serk remains the SSA's supreme
commander.
The council will be responsible for the SSA's political struggle.
Jao Yawd Serk said the SSA's struggle for independence could not be
separated from the movement's fight against drugs.
Jao Yawd Serk, once a trusted aide of former drug warlord Khun Sa, who
surrendered to Burma in 1996, said he was very bitter over allegations that his
movement was engaged in drug trafficking.
But he was optimistic the outside world would soon have a better
understanding of the SSA once "they are aware of our strong determination to
root out this problem from our land".
He said that during the past two years the SSA had destroyed millions of
methamphetamine tablets and huge amounts of heroin destined for Thailand.
The SSA's drug fight was earlier commended by Lt-Gen Wattanachai
Chaimueng-wong, the Third Army commander, who publicly praised the SSA whose
recent raid on drug plants inside Burma confirmed the suspicion that drug trade
along the border area had the support of Burmese security forces.
Members of the ruling junta in Rangoon have repeatedly denied they have
anything to do with the drug trade along the border area.
However, Maj Kham Daeng who heads the SSA's drug suppression unit, said it
was an open secret that Burmese border forces were directly involved in drug
trafficking.
"During our raids on drug plants inside Burma, on many occasions we have
had to fight Burmese soldiers deployed for the protection of drug plants," said
Maj Kham Daeng.
Maj Kham Daeng was also directly involved in the border raid on Muser Abi
village late last year, resulting in the capture of Burmese military officers
and 100,000 methamphetamine pills.
Muser Abi is a border village opposite Ban Pasang Na-ngern in Chiang Rai's
Mae Fah Luang district, where the United Wa State Army, widely regarded as the
biggest drug trafficker in the region, kept its drugs before moving them across
the border into Thailand.
BBC - Sunday, 11 February, 2001, 14:12
GMT
Clashes flare on Thai-Burma border By Larry Jagan in Bangkok Three Thai villagers have been killed in fierce fighting which has flared
between Thai and Burmese troops along the common border.
A Thai military spokesman told the BBC that the villagers had been killed,
and seven others injured, when Burmese troops shelled the town of Mae Sai, about
700km (437 miles) north of Bangkok.
On Saturday, the Burmese army - who have been fighting separatist Shan
rebels on their side of the border - crossed into Thailand and seized a local
army base, capturing 19 Thai soldiers.
Sources in the border town say the soldiers escaped early on Sunday morning
during a heavy exchange of fire between the two sides.
Thai troop reinforcements have been sent to the area and the local army
commander said Thailand would not tolerate any further violation of its
territory.
Local Burmese and Thai military officials are planning to meet in the next
day or so to discuss the incident.
Testing times
Observers say the Burmese army has often used border incursions over the
last 10 years to test the attitude towards Rangoon of new Thai Governments when
they are about to come into office.
When this happened more than four years ago, the then Prime Minister, Chuan
Leekpai, stood firm.
New Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has hinted he wants to improve
relations with his neighbour, but analysts in Thailand have urged him to proceed
cautiously.
So far the government has not reacted to the fighting along the border.
But it will be one of the immediate problems Mr Thaksin will have to tackle
in the coming week when he takes over active control of the country.
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